When Chris, a likable, high-school loser, finally gathers the courage to reveal his love to Jamie -- the girl of his dreams and a super cool cheerleader -- she rejects him, saying she just wants to be friends. So, he moves across the… MoreWhen Chris, a likable, high-school loser, finally gathers the courage to reveal his love to Jamie -- the girl of his dreams and a super cool cheerleader -- she rejects him, saying she just wants to be friends. So, he moves across the country and transforms himself into a selfish, womanizing and successful music executive. But, 10 years later, circumstances bring him back to his home town and fate reconnects him with the "just friends" girl of his dreams. Suddenly, Chris has the chance to undo the past, but unbelievably, he finds it more difficult to romance Jamie than it was 10 years ago. Can one escape the clutches of the "friend zone?" Is it possible to go from "just friend" to boyfriend? Chris is about to find out the hard way.

Just Friends is part Farrelly Brothers and part Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, all wrapped together to deliver gross-out gags in bizarrely random and rapid-fire fashion, with zero intent to develop sustainable plot or character.

Romantic comedies are often held up as the epitome of Hollywood dross. They are used to guage how far the standards of comedy and character development have… MoreRomantic comedies are often held up as the epitome of Hollywood dross. They are used to guage how far the standards of comedy and character development have fallen in the history of cinema, and every year another bad reminder of their poor quality and cynical nature comes along to torment us. The fact that many of these films make bucketloads of money can only be explained by a lack of alternative viewing for women, or a lack of taste all-round.
The thing is, very few people who genuinely care about cinema want it to be this way. Hating on a given film is a popular and cathartic exercise, but every time a new film comes along, every true film fan is wanting it to be good. Every so often a film arrives in whatever genre which appears to have nothing going for it and turns out to be truly worthwhile. Just Friends, on the other hand, is every bit as empty and stupid as its appearance would lead us to believe.
One of the most common problems with modern romantic comedies is that the leading characters are deeply unlikeable. Hollywood has always flaunted the wealth of its characters, as seen in the classic romances of the Golden Age and its continuing obsession with British royalty. But in recent years its celebration of wealth and stature has mutated into something more mean-spirited: while in the past wealth was presented as something to admire or respect in a character (rightly or wrongly), now it is used as an excuse for that character to be as mean as he or she likes to anyone who is not in their position.
Each of the three main characters in Just Friends are unlikeable because their status is forced down our throats every time we try and bond with them. We might congratulate Chris on becoming a successful musical rep if he didn't brag so much about how wealthy he was or act in so much denial about his unrequited love for Jamie. Samantha is terribly written, with Anna Faris just being a spoilt brat who makes us want her to disappear from her first line. Even Jamie, who is relatively low down the social ladder, is a victim of this, with director Roger Kumble drawing attention to her status as a bartender as a lazy means of getting us to think she's okay.
Character development in Just Friends is few and far between, and even when we do get it, it's rarely satisfying. The entire opening sequence, showing Chris as an overweight dork, is not only shallow in reducing love down to physical attraction, but deeply mean-spirited and really unfunny. More to the point, the whole crux of the film (Chris trying to confess his feeling to Jamie and them getting together) takes far too long to play out, and when they do finally get together, it feels like an act of exhausted surrender rather than something more edifying or uplifting.
The opening sequence also raises a sadly common issue in Hollywood, namely its notion of what ugliness is. Kumble and screenwriter Adam 'Tex' Davis clearly believe that putting Ryan Reynolds in a fatsuit is automatically hilarious, counterpointing as it does Reynolds' good looks and charm (we'll get to that) with fatness, which in their book is inherently bad. If you found this device offensive in Shallow Hal, then you'll really have no time for it here. It's a cheap, offensive trick, designed to make the character look pathetic rather than take the time to properly build him up as something approaching a real person.
Equally offensive, and much more pervasive, is the film's central conceit. The 'friend zone' (a term fittingly coined by the sitcom Friends) is a deeply sexist concept, implying as it does that any man who does nice things to a woman should be rewarded with a romantic and/ or sexual relationship with said woman. When Rob Reiner tackled the idea of friends falling in love in When Harry Met Sally, he gave its two players equal footing and explored the subject with intelligence. Here, we are expected to root for Chris on the grounds that he is owed love by Jamie, which belittles her and makes Chris both creepy and aggressive.
Since we're on the subject of Chris, it's only fair that we should address the performance of Ryan Reynolds, one of the most overrated actors working in Hollywood today. While he has occasionally turned in a good performance (in Buried, for instance), for the most part Reynolds acts like a brand new wardrobe: nicely buffed, but also wooden, empty and completely hollow. He has no charisma, no comic timing, and is not in the least bit likeable, spending all his time either complaining or mugging to the audience. As his work in Green Lantern proved, he is perhaps the least suitable leading man that Hollywood has produced in the last two decades - though Hayden Christiansen may fight him for that title.
The rest of the cast are either irritating by their own efforts or disappointing because of how little they bring to the table. Amy Smart acquitted herself perfectly well in Rat Race, but her she's pretty bland, reduced whether by the script, direction or a lack of confidence to just being smiley and care-free. Anna Faris, who would later excel in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, is as annoying here as she is in the Scary Movie series, screeching through her lines like a bad Saturday Night Live sketch. The supporting cast are mostly unmemorable, with Chris Klein having to play the Phil Hartman role in Jingle All The Way, but without the talent or charisma.
Most of the humour in Just Friends is derived from laughing at the characters' misfortunes. Kumble goes to great and bloody lengths to humiliate Chris and Samantha, taking jokes that might ave worked in an episode of South Park and removing any aspect of them that could be funny. It may be that Kumble is more at home in the darker, more twisted end of comedy, having come to prominence as the director of Cruel Intentions, a teen take on Dangerous Liaisons. In any case, his aptitude for publicly humiliating his characters is at odds with the feel-good atmosphere the rom-com plot is trying to generate.
On top of all this, the film is very dull and repetitive. In my review of Beverly Hills Cop III, I commented that boring films are the hardest to defend, because they are not even memorably offensive enough to justify themselves (i.e. they are worth having as a baseline, below which we should not hope to drop). If Just Friends was merely creepy or offensive, or even annoying, it may have been possible to argue its case in this manner. But for better or worse, it's no Sex and the City.
Most of this boredom comes from the fact that the plot is inexplicably drawn out. Even with all my comments about character development, the plot of Just Friends is at best suitable for a half-hour TV episode. Had it been an episode of Friends, for instance, the characters would have milked the conceit dry and then either tied things up or left it open for a recurring character to come back later in the series. Here, we get 30 minutes of plot strung out by increasingly stupid ploys by Chris to get Jamie to change her mind, none of which are credible and all of which are either tedious or irritating.
On top of everything else, the film is visually unimpressive. Anthony B. Richmond started off his career in exciting fashion, shooting Don't Look Now and The Man Who Fell To Earth for Nicolas Roeg, and later working with The Who on The Kids Are Alright. But ever since the early-2000s, when he lensed Legally Blonde, he seems to have got stuck in a rut with plastic, vapid rom-coms. Here his lighting choices and camera angles are stale and predictable, draining out whatever energy Kumble was attempting to bring to proceedings.
Just Friends is a rubbish rom-com which succeeds in being creepy, sexist or boring far more often than it manages to be funny. Ryan Reynolds adds this role to his roster of unconvincing, uncharismatic leading men, and Kumble's direction is both mean-spirited and unengaging. While it's ultimately too boring to make you physically sick, it is another sad indictment of the way that Hollywood deals with romance and relationships.

Alex roy

Just Friends is a fairly comedy that exceeded my expectations a bit. If you're looking for a fun comedy, then this is your film. Just Friends is not a… MoreJust Friends is a fairly comedy that exceeded my expectations a bit. If you're looking for a fun comedy, then this is your film. Just Friends is not a perfect comedy, but for what it is, it definitely brings on good laughs. Like I said, this one exceeded my expectations, and I didn't think it would be this funny, but it was. The jokes aren't excellent, but for the most part, there good enough to make you laugh a few times. This is a good film and it does some memorable moments. The cast do a fine job in their roles, and they're all amusing to watch on-screen. There are things that they could've improved upon here and there, but overall the filmmakers succeeded at delivering a funny film. The film has its low points, but the use of comedy keeps the film from faltering and in the end, this is an underrated comedy flick if you enjoy mindless comedy, Give Just Friends a view. I did, and was surprised. Not the best comedy, but not the worst either. Just Friends is really the type of comedy film that delivers a good time, decent laughs and is one of those films that shouldn't be easily dismissed. I enjoyed for what it is, despite not being a great film, I had fun watching this film.

danny d

the film actually had some charm and i laughed out loud a few times, but the gimmicks used to force the plot to unfold and the high jinks to unravel were forced… Morethe film actually had some charm and i laughed out loud a few times, but the gimmicks used to force the plot to unfold and the high jinks to unravel were forced way too hard. in the end, the events that drove the laughs didnt have the effect on the story that the film tried to convince us that they were going for. i was entertained, but more uncomfortable than anything else.

Cassandra Maples

This film really delivers. It sets you up thinking - seen this all before admittedly in reverse where the ugly girl grows up to be a beautiful swan not the guy… MoreThis film really delivers. It sets you up thinking - seen this all before admittedly in reverse where the ugly girl grows up to be a beautiful swan not the guy - but I have to say Ryan Reynolds does a great job with a fantastic supporting cast (him and his brother are hilarious) and I would recommend a watch.The set up initially caused me some concern thinking it was just another 'lets laugh at the fat kid' movie but actually I found it was not about him being over weight or geeky, but just about how we are when we are teenagers.The scene where he is singing into a mirror - genius. And let's face it, we have all been there.... It's not the greatest movie ever made, not even the greatest RomCom ever made but it was really enjoyable and a good laugh. A pleasant surprise.

Candy Rose

Funny rom com about a guy who is in love with his best friend. He leaves high school to become a successful music producer. Due to an incident with his plane he… MoreFunny rom com about a guy who is in love with his best friend. He leaves high school to become a successful music producer. Due to an incident with his plane he ends up in his hometown where he meets his first love again. Everything goes wrong and he nearly loses her to another guy. The Christmas garden scene is hilarious. Ryan's singing and dancing gestures are golden moments.

Dead Angel

It was okay. Doesn't have anything new to talk about actually.

Spencer S.

You feel so bad for Ryan Reynolds the whole time, but you're also visibally laughing at him.

Lenny Muggsy

I thought the movie would be more popular. Concept is outdated but has hilarious lines. Ryan Reynolds puts on a good performance. One of the funniest movies… MoreI thought the movie would be more popular. Concept is outdated but has hilarious lines. Ryan Reynolds puts on a good performance. One of the funniest movies in the romantic comedy genre, classic and good replay value.

Nicki Marie

The main problem with this as a romantic comedy is that Chris is such an ass you don't want to see him with Jamie.
I do like this - Amy Smart is a good… MoreThe main problem with this as a romantic comedy is that Chris is such an ass you don't want to see him with Jamie.
I do like this - Amy Smart is a good actress and Anna Farris is funny here too. I also find Chris's mum quite funny and it is a good Xmas movie being set that time of year.
But as a romance it is a fail.

Bethany Murphy

Hilarious! Ryan Reynolds as an obese teenager makes the film. As does Anna Faris and her outstanding comedy performances. Crazy woman! A must see!

KJ Proulx

Hilarious! But it had so mush more potential!

Arash Xak

Ryan Reynolds is not a great comedian but he's actually more hilarious & fun to watch than most of the recest so-called comedians like Stiller &… MoreRyan Reynolds is not a great comedian but he's actually more hilarious & fun to watch than most of the recest so-called comedians like Stiller & Sandler but what really saves this movie is two brothers' interactions & quarrel scenes